A tired Bermuda cricket squad - minus the flu stricken Lionel Cann — landed in Antigua on Monday night to become the first of the 15 visiting nations to arrive for next month’s World Cup.

They were greeted at the airport by a delegation led by the Minister with responsibility for World Cup 2007 and Chairman of the Antigua & Barbuda Local Organising Committee (LOC), the Hon. John Maginley.

After touching down, the players, management and coaching staff were escorted to the VIP lounge where Maginley presented manager Lionel Tannock with a gift from the LOC and wished them well in the upcoming series against Bangladesh and Canada this weekend.

Bermuda play their first-ever One-Day International against a Test nation when they meet Bangladesh on Sunday. The Bangladesh squad were due to arrive in Antigua yesterday afternoon.

Maginley noted that the team’s arrival concluded various events which took place on Monday to mark the start of ICC CWC 2007.

“Monday, February 19, is also the day that the three official venues — Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, the Antigua Recreation Ground and the Stanford Cricket Ground — were handed over to the International Cricket Council (ICC). For us this signals that the tournament has started and we are delighted to welcome Bermuda — the first team to arrive for the tournament — to Antigua & Barbuda,” said Maginley.

Bermuda’s former captain Clay Smith told local reporters the entire squad were excited about the prospect of playing some of the top cricket nations in the world.

“We have been trying since 1979 to qualify and we are very excited about the tournament,” said Smith, who has played at national level for 17 years.

All-rounder Cann is expected to join the squad on Friday.